The 2018 National Youth Festival On Swami Vivekananda’s Birthday

Today is Swami Vivekananda’s birthday and also recognized as National Youth Day. To celebrate this day, the National Youth Festival is being conducted at the Gautam Buddha University in Greater Noida. The NYF will be a five day long celebration from the 12th to 16th of January.

The Festival began with Prime Minister Modi’s inaugural speech to the youth of India. The inaugural ceremony was co presided by Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister for State of Youth Affairs and Sports Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore. The guest of honor for the occasion is Union Minister for Culture Mahesh Sharma.

During the inaugural speech PM Modi was quoted saying, “We were born after 1947, thus, we did not have the honor to take part in the freedom struggle. But, we have the opportunity to fulfill the dreams of the great men and women who helped us attain freedom from the British rule. We have to create India that our freedom fighters dreamt of. We want to make our youth job creators. They should be encouraged to become the ones who innovate.”

The five day Festival is organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in collaboration with the State Government of Uttar Pradesh. This is the first time the National Youth Festival is being held in the National Capital Region. The 22nd National Youth Festival is a platform for the youth of the Country to come together and showcase their talents. The biggest Youth Festival in the Country was first conducted in 1995 in Bhopal.

The theme for the Festival is set at ‘Sankalp Se Siddhi’ that translates to ‘an oath to accomplish.’ The agenda is to bring young India together to capture the new perspective of the youth and to take an oath to accomplish the Goal of New India.

The Festival’s unique feature is an arena provided to create a Mini India where the youth can formally and informally interact about their social and cultural uniqueness. This blend of diverse socio cultural milieu is done in hopes to create “Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat.”

The entire programme has been designed specifically to spread awareness about the Government’s initiatives for young India. The National Youth Award will also be given to the deserving candidate during the opening ceremony of the Festival.